Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

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This document was prepared by Technical Committee, ISO/TC 145, Graphical symbols.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 17724:2003), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

addition of an introduction;
deleted terms which are not core or which are covered in other ISO TC 145 standards;
renumbered definitions;
updated Bibliography.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

This document provides a consolidated vocabulary for the graphical symbol sector. Graphical symbols can be viewed on the ISO Online Browsing Platform at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui, which contains all the terms and definitions in all ISO deliverables, including those contained in this document. Users of this document should refer to the ISO OBP as the first source for current terms and definitions.

Further terms and definitions for graphical symbols are given in the following documents:

ISO 3864 series and ISO 17398 (safety colours and safety signs);
ISO 9186 series (test methods);
ISO 16069 and ISO 22578 series (safety way guidance systems);
ISO 20560 series (safety information for the content of piping systems and tanks);
ISO 20712 series (water safety signs and beach safety flags);
ISO 22727 (public information symbols);
ISO 23601 (escape and evacuation plan signs);
ISO 28564 series (public information guidance systems).

1 Scope

This document defines terms related to graphical symbols, principally symbols for public information safety signs and use on equipment. This document does not include terms related to graphical symbols for diagrams (technical product documentation (TPD) symbols).

The definitions are intended to serve as a basis for consideration by those concerned with producing new standards or revising existing ones.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

Bibliography

ISO 17724:2026

Graphical symbols. Vocabulary

Current

Published:

12 Jan 2026